On September 22, 2002, Chicago first baseman Fred McGriff became the first player to hit 30 home runs in a season for five different teams (Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Devil Rays, and Cubs). The ‘Crime Dog’s’ first inning homer at PNC park also set a record for being hit in the 42nd major league park, one more than Ellis Burks.

With the exception of Wrigley Field and Fenway, there have been a lot of ballparks built and torn down over the last 100 years. McGriff who played from 1986 to 2004 managed to play and homer in 42 of them.

In Minnesota, where I live, there have been 3 ballparks the Twins have called home since 1961: Metropolitan Stadium, The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and Target Field.

Building new ballparks and football stadiums has become one of the favorite things billionaire owners like to do with their teams. Each new ballpark seems to arouse “Ballpark Envy” from others in the Fellow Owners Club since each new ballpark is built to maximize revenue and increase the “value” of an owner’s “asset.”

The pattern is simple. First, the owner complains about their current stadium. Then they threaten to move unless taxpayers foot the bill for a new “fan-friendlier” ballpark. Once the new ballpark is built, the owner’s “asset” is now worth 2, 3, or 4 times as much.

This strategy works even for bad teams and bad owners. And if they do not get what they want, they move their franchise to Las Vegas or some other water-poor part of the country.

It would be nice if when Harris becomes President of the United States and the Democrats take control of the House and the Senate, after impeaching a few Supreme Court Justices that they would pass a law putting a 50 year moratorium on building new stadiums.

A guy can dream can’t he?